A 2001 ban on federally funded researchers conducting embryonic stem cell research will be lifted in the coming year, but overall funding for this and other scientific research will remain historically low, predicts a University of Alabama biologist.
Sarah Palin continues to draw big audiences to Republican events, and some say she helped Georgia Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss pull off a victory in a state run-off. A University of Alabama professor believes Palin will continue drawing attention well into the new year and, quite possibly, longer.
While the bailout of the banks and the Big Three automakers is taking center stage in the nation’s economic crisis, the three-headed health care issue – Medicaid, Medicare and drug prices – could hit American consumers even harder next year.
The year 2009 will witness a crisis in funding of long-term care for older adults, predicts Dr. Patricia Parmelee, director of the Center for Mental Health and Aging at The University of Alabama.
An increase in open and frank dialogue about racial and ethnic diversity will begin as Barack Obama’s presidential administration gets underway in the coming year, predicts a University of Alabama rhetorical studies expert.
More figure-flattering cuts, belts and dresses that emphasize the waist will replace bulky tops as the hottest styles in 2009 as fashion trends move away from the focus on volume of the last few seasons, a University of Alabama expert predicts.
Interactive books that use Web pages and CDs to help tell their stories and keep kids guessing will continue to hold children’s and young adults’ attention in 2009, a University of Alabama children’s literature expert predicts. These new multi-platform books include Richard Riordan’s “The 39 Clues” series, which features extensive new media enhancement.
The incoming Obama administration will make good on pledges regarding the ongoing conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2009 even as those nations pose huge challenges, says Dr. Douglas Gibler, associate professor of political science at The University of Alabama and an expert in international relations.
Dr. Benton Gup, author of “Too Big to Fail: Policies and Practices in Government Bailouts,” is often sought by various media for comments on the current economic state of the United States.
After a year in which oil prices fluctuated from record highs to the lowest prices in the last five years, a University of Alabama engineering professor predicts that oil prices will remain low during 2009, thanks of the struggling national economy.